C# dictionary value clearing out when I clear list previously assigned to it....why?

Question

Dictionary <string, List <SaleItem>> saleItemNew = new Dictionary<string, List<    SaleItem>> ();

saleItems = new List <SaleItem> ();

saleItemNew.Add("1", saleItems);

At this point the list in the Dictionary has values.

saleItems.Clear();

However, when I clear out the list previously assigned to it, the dictionary's value List is now empty...why?

Answer 1

The dictionary contains the same reference to the list, so modifying the list will change both references.

Microsoft documentation about reference types: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/490f96s2.aspx